Strip slitting machine comprising slitting dies in the form of endless belts



y 1956 C M. M CHESNEY 2,753,936

STRIP SLITTING MACHINE COMPRISING SLITTING DIES IN THE FORM OF ENDLESS BELTS Filed March 5, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet l g V m 5 o a a v 1 n I I I... v ......"u N 9 I Q TIT/I I 0 INVENTOR.

CHESTER M. MAcCHESNEY WWW ATT'YS July 10. 1956 c. M M CHESNEY 2,753,936

STRIP SLITTING MACHINE COMPRISING SLITTING DIES IN THE FORM OF ENDLESS BELTS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 5, 1953 INVE NTOR. CH ESTER M. MACCHESN EY ATT'YS United States Patent STRIP SLITTING MACHINE COMPRISING SLIT- TING DIES IN THE FORM OF ENDLESS BELTS Chester M. MacChesney, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Acme Steel Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application March 1953, Serial No. 340,435 16 Claims. (Cl. 164-35) This invention relates to improvements in slitting machines adapted for use in slitting metal sheets or strips into-narrower strips.

Slitting machines of this general type have heretofore been in extensive use but these prior machines have been quite unsatisfactory in some respects. They have commonly been formed with two slitting rolls, one of which has an annular rib or die adaptedto'enter a groove in the: other roll. The shearing dies thus formed have had a tendency to wear rapidly, thus requiring rather frequent replacement. A further disadvantage has been that the slitting of the metal by passing it between these rolls has caused the slitted strip'to become wedged in the groove of one of the rolls with the result that, as the strip is pulled out of the groove during its movement away from the rolls, the edges of the strip have become damaged. Another difficulty with these prior machines is that the cutting rolls must be formed with great precision so that a projecting die on one roll will register accurately with the mating groove in the other roll, and this result has not been very readily attained, particularly when a plurality of strips are to be slitted by a number of dies and grooves on the same rolls.

The present invention overcomes the above mentioned diificulties, and others, by providing novel slitting dies constructed as endless belts which maybe ofsubstantial' length and which are of relatively long life so that they do not require replacement except after long intervals. A further advantage of the novel shearing dies of the present invention is that they may be continuously'sharp ened while in use, thereby further prolonging their useful lives. A further object: of the invention is to. provide a novel construction in which the tendency of. the s'littedstrip to wedge between. the dies and to become damaged at its edges is substantially eliminated. Still another objeet of the invention is to'provide' a slitting machine having complementary slitting dies, one of which isiautomatically self-centering with respect to its mate, so that great precision of manufacture is not required even: when a plurality of mating dies are carried by thesame: rolls. A further object is to provide slitting apparatus comprising a plurality of cooperating endless. belts which are so mounted that they may be readily removed for replacement or repair. Other objects of the invention relate to various features of construction andarrangement which will appear more fully hereinafter.

The. nature. of. the invention will be understood. from the following. specification taken with. the. accompanying drawings in which one embodiment is illustrated. In; the drawings,

Figure 1' shows a perspective view of one form of apparatus embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2' shows an enlarged vertical section through the strip slitting rolls and dies illustrated in Fig; 1;

Fig; 3 shows a perspective view of a modified form of apparatus embodying the present invention, wherein the endless slitting belts are readily removable;

upon the upper stretch of the endless die 10,,beii1gcarried Fig. 4 shows atransversesection through a metal strip passing between modified forms of backing rolls, shown in elevation, which are adapted to center and guidethe slitting dies or beltswhen an odd number of such belts are employed; and

Fig. 5' shows a section and-elevation similar to Fig. 4*,- illustrating another construction of the backing rolls adapted for use when an even number'of slitting belts are used.

As illustrated in the drawings, the invention comprises aplurality of shearing dies which are constructed as endless belts formed of hard flexible steel or the like, includ' ing a male die 10 which passes around a backing roll 11 and two female dies 12 which extend around a backingroll 13. The die 10 extends rearwardly of'the' apparatus from the roll 11 andpasses around an idler rOll'14. Simi-- larly-,,the two endless dies 12 extend rearwardly from' the; roll'13 and pass aroundan idler roll 1'5. The two dies 1-2 are spaced apart on the roll 13 to form between them a groove 16 which is partially entered by the die 10 whichextends around the backing roll 1'1. The backing rolls 1'1 and 13 are mounted'on shafts 17and 18, respectively, and one of these shafts, such as the shaft 17, has mounted thereona flywheel'19 which may be engaged by the hands of the operator or be power driven for turning the connected shaft to initiate the operation of the apparatus.

The relatively wide metal sheet or strip 20, which is to be slitted by the dies 10- and 12, is preferably pulled be-- tween these' dies by a suitable feeding apparatus which may comprise two rolls 22 and 23'- which engage opposite sides of'the slittcd strips after they'have passed the slitting apparatus, one of these rolls being provided with a pulley 24 which is fixed on its shaft and driven by a belt 25 extending from a pulley 26 on the shaft of an electric motor 27". If desired, this strip feeding apparatus may include a' plurality of power driven rolls arranged, for example; in zigzag fashion with the strip following an undulating path through them, which would give greater frictional contact with the metal strip and insure greater or more uniform tension therein. With this arrangement, the metal sheet or strip 20 is positively pulled between the'bacl'cing rolls- 1-1 and Band between the slightly intermeshing shearin'g'di'es- 10 and= 1 2, with theresult that the sheet or strip 20 is slitted' longitudinally at the edges'of thedie 10* as this die forcesthe metal downwardly into the groove 16- bet-ween thedies 12'. The movement of the strip 20 also drivesthe dies and 1-2 sothat new cutting edges areconstantly presented to the place of shearing.

The: adjacent stretches of the endless dies 10 and 12" ex'- tend rearwardly from the placeof shearing in the directions of the arrows 21 and diverge gradually from each other as shown in Fig; 1 so that the slitted strip emergesfrom the groove 16 and travels rearwardly to the feed rolls 22 and 23 without any objectionable wedging of'the' stripbetween the shearing dies-12'. T o minimize any such wedgingactionand to insure the proper centering of the endless die 10 with respect tothe endless dies 12", die 10 is' arranged to engage a groove 11aforn1edi'n the backing roll 11 and the dies 12 are arranged to engage annular grooves 13a formed in the backing roll 1-3. The groove 11a in the roll 1 1 is ma deslightlywider than the width of the die 10" sothat as the endless dies pass around their backing rolls the die It automatically centers itself with respect to the groove 16 between the dies 12' and the proper shearing action takes place with the die 10' maintaining its proper relationship to the edges of the dies 12.

The endless cutting'dies 1'0 and 1 2 are preferablymairrtained substantially taut during; their travel around the backing rolls Hand 13 and around the idler rolls 14 and. Forthis purpose, a roller 30' is mounted to bear by a lever 31 which is pivotally mounted at 32 and which is actuated by a coil spring 33 or the like connected to a stationary member 34. The roller 30 thus bears down upon the endless die and maintains it in a taut condition. Similarly, a roller 35 is arranged to bear against the lower surface of the lower stretches of the endless dies 12, being mounted upon a lever 36 which is pivoted on a stationary pin 37 and actuated by a coil spring 38 connected to the stationary member 39. In this way, all three of the endless cutting dies are maintained in a taut condition during the slitting operation. In order to maintain the endless cutting dies in operating condition with sharp edges, a cylindrical grinding wheel 40 is mounted to 1 bear upon the upper side of the upper stretch of the endless die 10 and is driven by an electric motor 41. Similarly, a cylindrical grinding wheel 42 is mounted to bear against the lower surfaces of the lower stretches of the endless dies 12 and is driven by an electric motor 43. These grinding wheels 40 and 42 are driven so that their peripheral speeds are diiferent from the peripheral speeds of those portions of the endless cutting dies with which they contact, or they may be driven so that their peripheral surfaces move in a direction opposite to the directions of movement of the cutting dies, so that a grinding action takes place during the travel of the dies and their shearing edges are maintained in sharpened condition for cutting the metal strip or sheet. Stationary grinders could also be employed for operating on the endless cutting dies during their travel.

In Figs. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings there has been illustrated a form of apparatus adapted to form two cuts extending longitudinally of the sheet or strip 20, thereby producing a single metal strip of the desired width, determined by the width of the groove 16 between the dies 12. It will be understood, of course, that a greater number of male cutting dies 10 and female cutting dies 12 may be mounted upon the rolls 11 and 13 respectively, or upon extensions thereof, so that a plurality of metal strips may be slitted simultaneously. In order to overcome the inertia of the apparatus at starting, the operator may preferably turn the shaft 17 by means of the flywheel 19 at the same time that the driving motor 27 is started in operation in order to insure movement of the strip 20 at starting without slippage.

In Fig. 3 of the drawings there is illustrated a modified form of the invention which differs from that illustrated in Fig. l primarily in the provision of means for permitting the convenient removal and replacement of the endless belts or dies by which the slitting of the metal strip is effected. In this modified form of apparatus the metal strip to be slitted is pulled endwise between two backing rolls and 51 by means of any suitable power driven pulling apparatus, such as that illustrated in Fig. 1 for that purpose. The metal strip, not illustrated, is adapted to be slitted longitudinally by three endless slitting belts or dies 52, 53 and 54. The belt 52 passes around the cylindrical roll 50 between the two belts 53 and 54 which pass around the backing roll 51 in spaced relation to each other so that they intermesh as they pass around the adjacent parts of the two backing rolls and thereby eflfect the longitudinal slitting of the metal strip which is moved in the direction of the arrow 55.

The backing roll 50 is mounted upon a shaft 56 which is connected through an overrunning clutch 57 with a pulley 58. This pulley is driven by an endless belt 59 from a drive pulley 60 mounted upon the shaft 61a of an electric motor 61. The other backing roll 51 is mounted upon a shaft 63 journaled in a bearing block 64 mounted for vertical adjustment in the frame 65 in which the shaft 56 is journaled. Suitable adjusting mechanism of a conventional type is mounted in the frame 65 and connected to the bearing block 64 so that it may be actuated by a hand wheel 66 to elfect the vertical adjustment of theshaft 63 so that the spaced relation of the backing.

ting operation or to permit the removal of any one of the slitting belts.

The slitting belt or die 52 which extends around the upper backing roll 50 is directed rearwardly and passed around a flanged pulley 68 mounted upon a shaft 69 carried by a lever 70. This lever is pivotally mounted upon a shaft 71 secured in bearing blocks 72 which are carried by a part of the overhead frame structure 73. The upper arm of the lever is pivotally connected by a pin '74 with a piston rod 75 which extends into a cylinder 76 where it is connected to a piston adapted to be actuated by compressed air or by hydraulic fluid admitted to the cylinder at either side of the piston. The cylinder is mounted on a pivot pin 77 which is journaled in bearing block 78 carried by the frame structure 73 so that the cylinder may oscillate to adjust itself to the angular position of the lever 70. When the piston is actuated to retract the piston rod 75 the pulley 68 is moved toward the backing roll 50 so that sufiicient slack is then produced in the endless slitting belt or die 52 to permit the removal of this belt from the backing roll, an operation which may be facilitated by lowering the backing roll 51 as previously described. When the belt 52 is in position on the backing roll 50 and on the pulley 68, compressed fluid may be admitted to the cylinder 76 to extend the piston rod 75 and thereby tighten the belt 52 until it is in the desired operating condition. For the purpose of sharpening the slitting belt 52 a grinding wheel 80 is mounted on a shaft 81 journaled in a block 82 which extends downwardly from the frame structure 73. This grinding wheel may be driven by an electric motor or be rotated periodically by a hand wheel 83 fixed upon the rear extremity of the shaft 81.

The other two slitting belts or dies 53 and 54 are mounted in a manner similar to the mounting of the belt 52. The belt 53 extends rearwardly around a flanged pulley 85 mounted upon a shaft 86 which is carried at the upper end of a lever 87. This lever extends downwardly through the floor 88 and is pivoted on a shaft 89 which is journaled in bearing blocks 90 secured to the underside of the floor structure. The lower end of the lever 87 is pivotally connected by a pin 91 to a piston rod 92 which extends into a cylinder 93 where it is secured to a piston adapted to be actuated by compressed fluid for effecting the extension or retraction of the piston rod for the purpose of loosening the belt 53 or producing a taut condition therein. The cylinder 93 is carried by a pivot pin 94 secured in the bearing blocks 95 which are mounted upon a suitable supporting frame. The belt 53 is adapted to be sharpened by a grinding wheel 96 carried by a shaft which is journaled in a bearing block 97 secured on the floor 88 and this grinding wheel may be power driven or periodically hand operated for the purpose of maintaining the desired sharp condition of the edges of the belt 53 for eifecting the slitting of the metal strip.

The other belt 54 extends rearwardly from the backing roll 51 and around a flanged pulley 100 which is carried by a shaft 101 mounted upon the upper end of a lever 102 pivoted on a shaft 103 which is journaled in bearing blocks 104 secured to the underside of the floor 88. The lower end of the lever 102 is pivotally connected by a pin 105 to the piston rod 106 which extends into a cylinder 107 where it is secured to a piston adapted to be actuated by fluid pressure for the purpose of extending and retracting the piston rod 106 to regulate the taut condition of the belt 54 or to release it so that it may be withdrawn from the backing roll 51 and from the pulley 100. The rear end of the cylinder 107 is carried by a pivot pin 108 which is journaled in bearing blocks 109 secured to a suitable supporting frame. The lower stretch of the belt 54 is engaged by a grinding wheel 110 secured upon a shaft 111 which is journaled in a block 112 secured on the floor 88. This grinding wheel 110 may be rolls50 and 51 maybe varied to regulate the desired slit- 75 periodically rotated by hand or motor driven for the purpose of maintaining the desired sharp condition of the belt 54.

It Will be noted thatv the belts 52, 53 and 54 are of difierent lengths so that the supporting levers for the flanged pulleys 68, 85 and 100 are staggered in relationship to each other, thus permitting the mounting. of several belts in close spaced relation while permitting the use of the adjustable mechanism for tightening the belts or for releasing them for removal and replacement.

In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 3 there are three belts which are adapted to effect two longitudinal slitting operations in the metal strip at the same time and" this is also true of the form of construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In the last mentioned form of construction, the backing rolls 11 and 13 are provided with annular'grooves' 11a and 13a, respectively, for guiding the endless slitting belts or dies and maintaining them in the desired edgewise relationship to each other but it is not necessary to provide separate guiding means for each slitting belt or die since this may be effected, as shown in Fig. 4 by providing backing rolls 115 and 116 for supporting an endless slitting belt 117 passing around the upper roll and two endless belts 118 passing around the lower backing roll, with guiding means for engaging only those belts which pass around one of the rolls. In this modification, the lower roll 116 is provided with annular shoulders 116a which are adapted to engage the outer edges of the two lower belts 1'18 and these two belts serve to guide the upper belt 117 and maintain it in the proper centered position, although it is otherwise free to move edgewise with respect to the upper backing roll 115 which is formed with a single cylindrical surface.

In Fig. 5 of the drawings there is illustrated still another modification of the backing rolls which is particularly adapted for use when an even numbered series of slitting belts. are employed; In this modification, there is an upper backing roll 120 and a lower backing roll 121 with two belts 12 2 and 123 passing around the upper roll in offset relationship to two other belts 124 and 125 which pass around the lower backing roll I21. The belt 122" interfits with the belts 124 and 125 at' the place where the belts efiect the shearing operation upon the metal strip 126 and, similarly, the belt 125 intermeshes with the belts 122 and 123 at the place where these belts effect the shearing operation. The upper backing roll 120 is provided with an annular shoulder 120a which engages the outer edge of the upper belt 123 to prevent sidewise movement thereof in one direction and a similar shoulder 121a is formed upon the other backing roll 121 to prevent sidewise movement of the belt 124 in the opposite direction. The two shoulders 120a and 121a thus retain all four of the slitting belts in proper lateral relationship for effecting the longitudinal slitting of the metal strip.

Although two forms of the invention have been shown and described by way of illustration, together with modification of the backing rolls, it will be understood that it may be constructed in various other embodiments which come within the scope of the appended claims. Where the term strip is used in the claims it is to be interpreted broadly to include wider members which are known in the art as sheets.

I claim:

1. The combination in apparatus for slitting metal, of endless flexible cutting dies in the form of belts having an edgewise overlapping relationship with each other, and means for moving a metal strip between said dies at the place where they overlap.

2. The combination in apparatus for slitting metal, of a plurality of endless flexible shearing dies, rolls about which said dies pass in endless belt fashion, two of said dies being spaced apart as they pass over one roll to form a groove engaged by a portion of another die passing around another roll and overlapping said two dies at its edges, and means for moving a metal strip between said spaced dies and said last named die whereby said sheet isslitted at the edges ofsaicl groove.

3 The combination in apparatus for slitting metal, of a plurality of shearing dies in the form of endless belts, a pairof baclcingroll's'for supporting said belts, two of said dies being spaced apart on'one'of'said rolls, another of said dies being. mounted on the other roll and entering the space between said two dies with itsedges over lapping the edges of said two dies, and means for moving, a metal strip between said last named die and said two dies in the region between' said rolls, thereby moving said dies endwise'and slittingsaid strip;

4. The combination inapparatus-for slitting metal, of a plurality of shearing dies-in theform of endless belts, apair of backing rolls for supporting: said belts, two of said dies being spacedapart on one of said' rolls, an other of said dies being mounted on the other roll and entering the space between saidtwo dies in edgewise overlapping shearing relationship to'said two dies, means for maintaining said dies in taut condition, and means for moving a metal strip between said last named die andsaid two diesin the region between said rolls.

5; The combination in apparatus for slitting metal, of a plurality of shearing dies .in the form of endless belts, a pair of backing rolls for supporting said belts, two of said dies being spaced apart on one of said rolls, another of said dies being mounted on the other roll and entering the space between said two dies in edgewise overlapping shearing relationship to' said two dies, said backing rolls having annular grooves engaged by said dies, and means fo'r'm'ovi'n'g a metah strip between said last named die and said two dies in the region between said rolls.

6. The combination in apparatus for slitting metal, of aplurality of shearing dies in the form of endless belts, a pair of backing rolls for supporting said belts, twoof said dies being spaced apart on one of said rolls, another of said dies being mounted on the other roll and entering the space between saidtwo dies in edgewise overlapping shearing relationship to said two dies, said backing rolls having annular grooves engaged by said dies, said grooveengaged by' said one die being wider than that die to permit centering of that die with respect to said space, and means for moving a metal strip endwise between said one die and said two dies in the region between said rolls.

7. The combination in apparatus for slitting metal, of a plurality of endless shearing dies in the form of endless belts, means for supporting said dies for continuous movement with a part of one of said dies extending into a space between parts of two other dies, and means for pulling a metal strip endwise between said part of said one die and said parts of said other two dies to eiiect the slitting of the strip and the movement of the dies, said one die and said two dies diverging from said parts away from each other and away from said strip in the direction of movement of the strip.

8. The combination in apparatus for slitting metal, of a plurality of endless flexible shearing dies, rolls about which said dies pass in endless belt fashion, two of said dies being spaced apart as they pass over one roll to form a groove engaged by a portion of another die passing around another roll, said last named die having an edgewise overlapping shearing relationship to said two dies, means for moving a metal strip between said spaced dies and said last named die whereby said sheet is slitted at the edges of said groove, and means engaging said dies during their movement for sharpening their edges.

9. The combination in apparatus for slitting metal, of a plurality of endless shearing dies in the form of endless belts, means for supporting said dies for continuous movement with a part of one of said dies extending into a space between parts of two other dies, means for pulling a metal strip endwise between said part of said one die and said parts of said other two dies to eflect the 7 slitting of the strip and the movement of the dies, said one die and said two dies diverging from said parts away from each other and away from said strip in the direction of movement of the strip, and power driven sharpening means engaging the diverging portions of said dies during their movement.

10. The combination in apparatus for slitting metal, of a plurality of shearing dies in the form of endless belts having an edgewise overlapping shearing relationship, a pair of backing rolls for supporting said belts, and guiding means carried by said backing rolls for controlling lateral displacement of said belts.

11. The combination in apparatus for slitting metal, of a plurality of shearing dies in the form of endless belts having an edgewise overlapping shearing relationship, a pair of backing rolls for supporting said belts, and annular shoulders formed on one of said rolls for engaging the lateral edges of certain of said belts.

12. The combination in apparatus for slitting metal, of a plurality of shearing dies in the form of endless belts, a pair of backing rolls for supporting said belts in closely spaced intermeshing relationship, and shoulders carried by said rolls for engaging the outer edges of the endmost belts of the series for controlling lateral displacement of said belts.

13. The combination in apparatus for slitting metal, of a plurality of shearing dies in the form of endless belts having an edgewise overlapping shearing relationship, a pair of backing rolls for supporting said belts with at least one belt passing around one backing roll intermeshing with two belts passing around the other roll, said belts diverging away from each other as they pass away from said rolls, other rolls about which said belts pass, and means for adjusting the positions of said other rolls to vary the tautness of said belts.

14. The combination in apparatus for slitting metal, of a plurality of shearing dies in the form of endless belts having an edgewise overlapping shearing relationship, a pair of backing rolls for supporting said belts with at least one belt passing around one backing roll intermeshing with two belts passing around the other roll,

, a 8 said belts diverging away away from said rolls, other rolls aboutwhich said belts pass, means for adjusting the positions ofsaid other rolls to vary the tautness of said belts, and means for varying the spaced relationship of said backing rolls.

15. The combination in apparatus for slitting metal, of a plurality of shearing dies in the form of endless belts having an edgewise overlapping shearing relationship, a pair of backing rolls for supporting said belts with at least one belt passing around one backing roll intermeshing with two belts passing around the other roll, said belts diverging away from each other as they pass away from said rolls, other rolls about which said belts pass, supporting means upon which said other rolls are mounted, and means for varying the positions of said supporting meansto produce slack in said belts.

16. The combination in apparatus for slitting metal, of a plurality of shearing dies in the form of endless belts having an edgewise overlapping shearing relationship, a pair of backing rolls for supporting said belts with at least one belt passing around one backing roll intermeshing with two belts passing around the other roll, said belts diverging away from each other as they pass away from said rolls, other rolls about which said belts pass, supporting means upon which said other rolls are mounted, and fluid pressure operated means for independently adjusting said supporting means to produce slack in said belts.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 357,187 Duncan Feb. 8, 1887 524,278 Knight Aug. 7, 1894 860,530 Cormay July 16, 1907 908,332 Rust Dec. 29, 1908 966,280 Weis Aug. 2, 1910 1,199,836 Sweet Oct. 3, 1916 1,525,590 Perrault Feb. 10, 1925 2,004,085 Shaw June 4, 1935 2,365,569 Larmuth Dec. 19, 1944 from each other as they pass 

